The eastern army camp of Beichuan Commandery!
This was the Prince of Northern Liang's field headquarters, established to keep the Northern Region Barbarians in check and prevent them from invading Northern Liang.
Life was hard in Northern Liang these days, but it was even harder for the Northern Region Barbarians. They had been stirring restlessly along the border lately, which was precisely why Lin Rusong, the Prince of Northern Liang, had come to oversee matters in person.
"The Xiliang Iron Cavalry?"
Reading the letter from home in his hand, Lin Rusong was momentarily taken aback, then could not help laughing. He exclaimed, "The Xiliang Iron Cavalry, eh? Is that little brat trying to strike out on his own?"
He was the Prince of Northern Liang, and his guards were called the Northern Liang Guard.
Yet his son had established a force and actually named it the Xiliang Iron Cavalry. The brat certainly had no shortage of ambition.
"Xiliang?"
Inside the command tent, everyone exchanged bewildered looks!
Wasn't the heir a wastrel? How did he have such lofty ambitions? Building another Liang in the west was tantamount to conquering another realm. Had they misunderstood the heir all this time?
One general could not help asking, "Your Highness, what does this Xiliang Iron Cavalry mean? Has the heir raised a cavalry force?"
"Indeed. According to the letter, Yi'er raised a thousand-strong cavalry force named the Xiliang Iron Cavalry. Its fighting strength even surpasses that of the Northern Liang Guard. That brat has certainly surprised me."
Lin Rusong nodded slightly, speaking with no small measure of pride.
Seeing the pride on the prince's face, everyone felt their thoughts churn, their expressions filled with disbelief.
"How is that possible? The Northern Liang Guard is one of our elite forces!"
"We've never even heard of this Xiliang Iron Cavalry. How could it be that strong? His Highness isn't deliberately boasting about his son, is he?"
"Xiliang?"
"West of Northern Liang lie the twenty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions. They're not easy to deal with."
"It really is hard to believe, but this is an official dispatch. Surely no one would dare spout nonsense in one. This is simply absurd."
They knew the Northern Liang Guard's strength. Even if it was not Northern Liang's most formidable army, as the Prince of Northern Liang's personal guard, its fighting strength ranked among the best.
For this Xiliang Iron Cavalry to be even stronger was rather terrifying. How had the heir built such a cavalry force?
Everyone knew that training elite soldiers was difficult, and raising elite cavalry was harder still. After all, cavalry required more than elite soldiers; they also needed top-quality warhorses. The heir had always kept a low profile. How had he accomplished this?
They could not help looking at their prince. Had he given the heir special assistance?
Seeing their looks, Lin Rusong said gravely, "I did not help him. In fact, I only hoped Yi'er would live as an ordinary commoner. Who could have imagined he would acquire such strength? This had nothing to do with me."
His words were entirely sincere, for he truly had not helped Lin Yi. Though the brat was clever, he was not cut out to be a ruthless overlord, so Lin Rusong had not expected anything of him.
He also worried that after his death, Lin Yi would be unable to control Northern Liang and would be uprooted completely by Li Anlan, leaving not even a root behind. Living as an ordinary person would therefore be a good choice.
Never in his wildest dreams had he expected the brat to make him so proud.
The others nodded, their faces full of confusion.
They, too, had noticed how the prince left the heir to his own devices. Could the heir have risen through his own efforts?
"Wait!"
At that moment, a scholar standing to Lin Rusong's left stepped forward and frowned. "There's no war in Northern Liang City. How was it established that the Xiliang Iron Cavalry is stronger than the Northern Liang Guard? Did something happen in Northern Liang City?"
This man was Wang Ziwen, a trusted confidant of Lin Rusong and a strategist of sorts. His intelligence bordered on the uncanny, earning him the nickname Wang Half-City.
Upon hearing his prince's words, he had sensed something amiss and could not help asking.
For the heir to deploy his hidden strength, something major must have happened in Northern Liang City. Otherwise, there was no way he would have caused such a commotion. After all, the Northern Liang Guard was still there. Why would elite cavalry be needed?
Unless the matter had already exceeded the Northern Liang Guard's ability to control it, forcing the heir to reveal his hidden strength.
"As expected of you, Wang Half-City!"
Lin Rusong sighed in admiration. Indeed, nothing escaped that old fellow Wang Ziwen. He was so shrewd that he had spotted the problem from Lin Rusong's words alone.
In fact, he had already received news of the assassination attempt on his son. But since Lin Yi was unharmed, and he feared damaging morale at the front, he had suppressed the news.
Now that his son had caused such a commotion, he probably could not keep it under wraps any longer. He might as well tell them outright.
"What? Someone tried to assassinate the heir?"
After hearing Lin Rusong's explanation, everyone's expression changed drastically, and they bristled with murderous intent. Someone had actually dared to assassinate the heir. Were they mad?
The heir was the prince's only son. They were trying to end his bloodline!
Everyone was indignant. However much of a wastrel the heir might be, however little he might amount to, he was still the heir of Northern Liang.
He represented Northern Liang!
For someone to attempt to assassinate him was a slap in Northern Liang's face, something utterly unforgivable.
"Why didn't you tell us about something so important, Your Highness?"
Wang Ziwen's gaze instantly darkened. His wife and children had all died at the hands of the barbarians, and he had never remarried.
He had watched Lin Yi grow up, making him as good as the only family Wang Ziwen had left. For someone to dare to assassinate Lin Yi now was simply courting death.
Uh!
Facing everyone's furious gazes, Lin Rusong smiled bitterly. "Although there was an attempt on Yi'er's life, he wasn't hurt at all, so I suppressed the news to avoid unsettling the troops."
"I see. That makes sense."
Wang Ziwen nodded slightly. The explanation was reasonable enough, but that did not mean he was not angry.
He sneered. "Have the assassins been found?"
Perhaps it was time to let them know how terrifying Northern Liang was. Northern Liang had fought its way out of hell, yet a few assassins dared to act so brazenly. They truly had no idea what death was!
Everyone was startled. Why did this scholar have such heavy killing intent?
"I already ordered the Northern Liang Guard to investigate with everything they had, but ultimately, they found nothing." Seeing Wang Ziwen's anger, Lin Rusong felt warmth in his heart and explained.
Smack!
Wang Ziwen slammed the table and rose, saying angrily, "Your Highness, why not let me return to Northern Liang? For these assassins to dare target the heir, they must have powerful backing. If we don't find them, the heir will still be in danger."
He knew full well that there were very few people who dared to assassinate the heir.
Those forces all had tremendous backing. With even the slightest carelessness, the heir might truly be assassinated. They had to protect him.
He knew the prince had left Xu Zhong behind to protect the heir, but to guard against any mishap, someone still needed to be sent back to oversee the situation. The heir's safety was far too important to Northern Liang.